


Robbery

by makethestorylast



Category: Hatchetfield Universe - Team StarKid
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, but i mean... worth it, i can't let them be happy without hurting them, sometimes you get adopted by your emotional support teacher and that's just how it be
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:59:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25253473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makethestorylast/pseuds/makethestorylast
Summary: “Emma, I love you… Why are you standing at my door at 2 am crying?”“Remember how Hidgens said that if I was going to break the law to do it with someone I trusted?”Paul sighed, rubbing his eyes to wake himself up. “Alright, what law are we breaking?”(Or Paul assists in breaking and entering for ~love~)
Relationships: Henry Hidgens & Emma Perkins, Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25





	Robbery

**Author's Note:**

> CW // Anxiety attack? Also mentions of gunshot wounds, surgery, and various canon apotheosis injuries. Not graphic, but still.

“Thanks for letting me crash here, Professor.” Emma sat up from her position on the couch when Professor Hidgens walked in. He gave her a patient smile.

“It’s really no trouble, Emma, though I’d appreciate it if you’d stop calling me ‘Professor.’” He joined her on the couch. “You’ve been out of my class for a year now.”

“You’re not getting me to call you Henry.”

“I can try.”

“Please don’t.”

He simply smiled again, leaving her request hang in the air. They sat in silence for a few moments. The news only played stories of the apotheosis, and neither wanted to relive it. Small talk was too little, but anything else was too much, so they enjoyed the quiet.

At least until the buzzer went off.

“I’ve got it, Professor.”

Emma stood from the couch, ignoring his futile protests about his name, and crossed the room. She pressed the button and waited until she heard the speaker crackle outside.

“Hidgens residence, please state your name and business.”

“Emma? I mean— It’s Paul. Um, Matthews? Emma, is that you?”

“Hold on.” Emma pressed another button and listened as the gates creaked open. Paul came in, still in his clothes from work and drenched in rain. Emma weighed her options, then decided that getting wet was worth it and pulled Paul in for a hug. “I missed you!”

“I missed you too, Emma. I went by your place, but no one was there, so I figured you came here…”

“Yeah, I got into an argument with my parents and they kicked me out, so the professor let me crash here for a few days.” She motioned for him to follow as she walked back to the living room.

“That’s nice of him.” The living room was empty when she got back, so she sat back down on the couch, Paul sitting a respectable distance from her.

“Yeah, well… when my sister died and my parents started being even bigger assholes, he became… like a father figure or something. There’s a reason I knew where to go when…”

“Right.”

The conversation died. Emma stood up and started rifling through the drawers of the TV stand. “Movie?”

“Huh?”

“The Professor has the biggest movie collection I’ve seen. What do you wanna watch?”

“Oh, um… I don’t care. Just pick something.”

Emma rolled her eyes. For someone who claimed to like film so much, he suddenly had zero opinions when it counted. She pulled out a movie at random without looking and put it in before going back and settling on the couch.

The DVD player whirred as the movie started playing, but when the Disney logo flashed across the screen, Emma whispered a string of curses under her breath. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t even look. I’ll change it, we can—”

“You don’t need to.” Emma looked at Paul. His expression was blank, but she heard a waver in his voice.

“Well, unless the professor loves Black Cauldron, this is definitely a musical. Last I checked, you didn’t like musicals, even before all this bullshit. Or did you get a personality switch?”

“I don’t know.” He fidgeted with his tie. “Maybe I never hated musicals. Maybe I just didn’t give them a chance.”

“And the aftermath of a musical apocalypse is the right time to give them that chance?” She got up to check the DVD case. “Aristocats. Definitely a musical.”

“Isn’t that the one with singing cats?”

“Yeah… why?”

“Well, it’s not people, is it? I didn’t see any cats infected with the blue… shit.”

Emma chanced a smile. “I guess not. But only if you’re sure.”

“I am.”

And so Emma pressed play again, went back to the couch, and settled into the cushions.

* * *

Paul turned to Emma as the credits played, tears still threatening to fall. He opened his mouth, ready to talk about the movie, but she was asleep, curled into a ball in the corner of the couch, her arm propped under her head as a pillow. He found a throw pillow and carefully wedged it under her head, then covered her with a throw blanket from the back of the couch.

Before he left, he pulled a pen from his coat pocket and scribbled a note on the back of a junk mail envelope on the coffee table.

_ Emma, _

_ I loved the movie. Maybe I was wrong about musicals. Just so you know, I cried at the ending, just like you said I would. _

_ See you soon.  _

_ Paul  _

He tucked the envelope into her hand, took one last look, then made for the door. Before he could leave, he heard his name from somewhere deep in the house. He started back toward the lab, listening for the Professor. Finally, he found a door, normally protected by a fingerprint and passcode, left ajar. He pushed it open the rest of the way and walked in. professor Hidgens stood in front of a counter full of beakers and lab equipment Paul hadn’t seen since his senior year chem class.

“Paul. Good to see you again.” He gestured to a stool. “Take a seat.”

“Good to see you too, Professor.”

“Please, call me Henry. I think we’ve far outgrown formalities, especially considering recent events.” He extended a hand for Paul to shake.

“The… apotheosis?”

“Well, yes, I suppose. But that’s not what I was referring to.” He gave Paul a wan smile. “I noticed you’ve grown exceptionally close to Emma recently.”

“I don’t know what you—”

“I wouldn’t bother trying to lie. It’s written all over your face. And besides, you willingly watched a Disney movie with her, despite the apotheosis and the fact that you apparently disliked musicals before any of this happened.” He shrugged. “It may have been a moment since I’ve been in love, Paul, but I still know what it looks like.”

“Listen, Prof—I mean, Henry… Not to be rude, but is there a point to this?”

“Absolutely. The point is that Emma’s parents are all but out of the picture, and I’ve come to care for her much like my own daughter. I approve of you, Paul, and you’ll find that it means a great deal that I do, but if you hurt her, don’t expect me to overlook that.”

“Understood. I really better go, Pr—Henry. I have work tomorrow.”

“Have a good evening, Paul.”

“Yeah, you too.” Paul gave Henry a quick wave and nearly ran out of the lab, only taking care by the front door as to not wake Emma, who stirred as the door opened.

* * *

Emma and Paul sat at a table outside a little café downtown. Emma picked at her sandwich, heart still fluttering. It hadn’t even been a week since Paul met her at the professor’s house and they were already on a date. Not that timing really mattered. She’d tried to kiss the guy while she was practically on her deathbed. This was just the logical conclusion, right?

“So, how are you and the Professor holding up?”

“Oh. We’re fine. Both a bit on edge still, but fine. I don’t see him much, he’s always in the lab or at the school lecturing. How about your friends?”

“Bill is doing fine. Deb apparently didn’t… yeah, so they’re all okay. Ted survived, but he’s still feeling the gunshot wound, and he won’t admit it, but he’s still torn up about Charlotte.”

“I thought you said she might be okay?”

“They’re still working on it. The PEIP agents couldn’t tell us much, but from what I understand, they kept her infected because the spores are the only thing keeping her alive. They’re hoping that maybe if they do major surgery while she’s infected, the spores will heal her enough that she can survive uninfected.”

“That’s… wow.” Emma pushed her plate away. She was too anxious to eat when she sat down, but now she’s kissed any chance goodbye.

“Sorry, bad conversation topic over food.”

“Not your fault, I asked. So work is mostly normal.”

“Yeah, Mr. Davidson is fine, so is Melissa and most of our department. Printer network is still shit, though.” Paul forced a laugh, but it made Emma smile.

“Some things never change, do they?” 

“Guess not. So if some things don’t change, what’s the same with you?”

“Shitty parents, as always. And the professor—”

“He hasn’t tried to get you to call him Henry yet?”

“Oh, believe me, he’s still trying. Anyway, he’s back to his normal amount of lunacy. The other day he took me aside and said, ‘Emma, if you ever need to break the law, you better be with someone you trust. Because otherwise, you’re going to jail and he’s getting off scot-free.’”

Paul laughed, for real this time. It was loud and nasally and the most obnoxious thing Emma had ever heard.

She loved it.

“Great life advice, I guess.”

“Yeah, well… with as long as I’ve stayed there, he may as well be my new dad.”

“No kidding. You know, that night we watched Aristocats? He called me to the lab and basically said ‘you hurt her, I hurt you.’”

“Really?” Paul nodded. “Oh, I’m sorry! He’s just… yeah.”

“No, it was sweet. I know your parents are… yeah. So it’s nice that he cares.”

“I guess. I just feel bad mooching off him for so long.”

“Don’t.” Paul stood up and Emma followed. She nearly dumped her food in the trash on their way out, then thought better of it. Instead, she wrapped it in a napkin and decided to throw it in the fridge. It was still a good sandwich, after all. “He’d kick you out if you were that much of a burden.”

“I think I’d have to murder a man for him to kick me out.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it. If you had a good reason, he might help you hide the body.”

They laughed as Paul helped Emma into the car, her bandaged leg still stiff. He got in and started the car, then turned to Emma. “You ready to go home, or…?”

“Why, you got other plans?”

“I may have borrowed a few Disney movies from Bill…”

“Really? So you actually liked Aristocats?”

“I left you a note. If you hadn’t fallen asleep, you would’ve gotten to see me cry.”

“I’ll be honest, I thought you just said that to make me feel better about accidentally picking it.”

“Nope. It was actually really good.” He pulled out of the parking lot and drove down Main Street.

“Paul Matthews, the guy who didn’t like musicals, enjoying a Disney movie? Bullshit.”

“So… Disney date?”

“Only if you promise to sing along.”

“Okay, we have to draw the line in the sand  _ somewhere _ .”

* * *

Paul’s buzzer echoed through his apartment, waking him up. He threw on a t-shirt and went to check the door. He saw Emma, makeup smeared with tears dried on her cheeks, through the peephole. He pulled the door open.

“Paul, I—”

“Emma, I love you… Why are you standing at my door at 2 am crying?”

“Remember how Hidgens said that if I was going to break the law to do it with someone I trusted?”

Paul sighed, rubbing his eyes to wake himself up. “Alright, what law are we breaking?”

And then Emma was hugging him, shaking and sobbing. He pulled her inside, never letting go, and brought her to the couch. She curled into him, crying harder.

“Emma…?”

She took a deep breath and pulled away. Paul reached out to wipe away a stray tear. She brushed at a mascara stain on his shirt.

“Sorry about that.” Her voice sounded like she had a head cold. “I just… It all hit me tonight. My parents kicked me out, I finally have a degree but nothing to do with it, I quit my job—” she cut herself off with another choked sob.

Paul pulled her back into a hug, running his hand through her hair and rubbing her side, trying to calm her down enough to talk. “What do you need me to do?”

“My stuff. All of it… it’s at my parents’ house. Still in my room. I need to break in, I have to get my stuff. Everything I have is in there, my computer, my pictures…”

“Hey, hey, look… Emma, look at me.” He tilted her head to look her in the eyes. “We’ll get your stuff. We’ll get your pictures, okay? Let me go change.” He pulled at his now stained shirt. “Then I’ll call Henry—”

“No!”

“Emma, I know you don’t want to intrude, but you’re still staying with him. He at least needs to know where you are. Unless you told him?”

Emma blinked slowly.

“That’s what I thought. Let me go change, okay? Do you want to call or should I?”

“I’ll call,” she said thickly.

“Okay.” He squeezed her hand and went to change. 

When he came back, wearing a new t-shirt and a clean pair of jeans, Emma was still on the phone with Henry. Her volume was loud enough that he could make out Henry’s voice on the other line.

“And you’re sure you’re okay?”

“Yes,” Emma responded. “I’m okay. Paul said he’d help.”

“And you trust him?”

“With my life.”

“Then so do I. Godspeed, Emma. And make it back safe. For my sake.”

“Thanks, Professor.” And before he could protest, Emma hung up.

“Ready, Emma?” She jumped at Paul’s voice, but she smiled anyway.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

* * *

“Just boost me up. I can get there from the tree.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! Just help me up!”

Paul laced his fingers together and boosted her up, sighing loudly when she grabbed hold of one of the thicker inner branches of the tree and clambored upward. She found a stable path to the window and steadied herself on the windowsill, one foot still on the branch. Paul moved underneath her, ready to break her fall if need be.

She fiddled with the lock and slid the window open. With a glance back at Paul, she ducked inside. He waited in the cold autumn air, pulling his thin jacket around him to block out the wind. Emma’s head popped back out of the window.

“I’m going to throw the less fragile stuff down. If you hear me get caught, take it all to the professor’s. I’ll meet you there.”

“I’m not leaving you here, Emma!”

“Like hell you aren’t. Just… promise me?”

“Absolutely not.” 

Emma sighed and ducked back inside. A duffel bag fell to the ground, nearly inaudible. Paul suspected it was full of clothes. Down came more bags, a few individual books, and a lightweight box sealed with packing tape. Paul took each bag and box to his car, keeping an eye out for Emma as he moved everything. Finally, she started to work her way out of the window, a laptop bag around her torso.

“Who’s there?” a gruff voice shouted from the middle of the house. Emma’s eyes went wide, and she scrambled out the window faster, slamming it shut and dropping from the tree.

“C’mon, hurry!” she whispered, dragging Paul away from the back and toward his car. A few seconds in, he realized what was happening and started running alongside her.

They jumped in the car, slamming the doors, and took off. Paul didn’t take his foot off the gas until they were at Henry’s house. He parked, still gasping for air, and looked over at Emma. 

The hilarity of the situation hit them, and they couldn’t stop laughing, even as they gathered her stuff and made their way to the gates. Emma hit the buzzer with her elbow and the speaker crackled.

“Emma, is that you?” 

“Yes, it’s me. And Paul.”

The gates creaked open. Emma dropped the bags in her arms and wrapped Henry into a hug while Paul stood by.

“Good to see you home safe. Why don’t you take those up to your room and I’ll start on some hot chocolate?”

He stepped aside and let Emma and Paul pass, laden with bags and boxes. Paul followed her upstairs and dropped everything on her bed. He turned to go back downstairs, but she grabbed his wrist and pulled him back, moving his hand to her waist.

“Thank you for coming with me tonight.”

“It’s no problem, Emma. It was an honor breaking and entering with you.” He gave her a weak smile.

“Hey, before we go back downstairs… I mean, I wanted to ask you earlier, but then we got caught, and I didn’t want to get you in trouble, so—”

“Emma?” Paul put up his hand to stop her. “Can I… Can I kiss you?”

“Please.”

And their lips met.

**Author's Note:**

> Remember to drop a comment/kudos if you enjoyed! <3
> 
> Tumblr: makethestorylast  
> Instagram: makethestorylast


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